Broadband News

EU sets mobile data price caps

News of caps on mobile data roaming charges will be welcomed by those using their mobile broadband as they travel across Europe, but even with the new caps it could cost £1000 per GB, so the only
way to avoid unduly large bills is to leave your mobile broadband dongle safely stored back at home.

Some people accept the costs of roaming with their mobile broadband dongle since it means they can check email, but it only takes a small software update for Windows, AV software or some other
software to chew its way through 20 to 30MB.

BBC News Online covers the news, and highlights the most useful part which is mobile
operators will have to allow the consumer to set a spending cap and warn the customer when they reach 80% of their spending limit. The 1 euro per MegaByte (MB) cap applies from July 2009, dropping to
80 cents in July 2010 and 50 cents in July 2011. The capped prices only apply to roaming charges within the EU, outside the EU charges can be as high as £7 per MB.

If going abroad it is always worth checking with your mobile data provider, since some have deals where you can buy access in 24 hours blocks, e.g. Vodafone offers 200MB for a
24 hour period at £8.50.

With the enforced reduction in roaming data costs, there is a risk that providers may recoup this lost revenue by raising other charges.

Comments

this may be a silly question, but why does it cost more when you are abroad to use your mobile? has anyone here got a good link to info that is understandable? IE not the ISP or bbc pages, have already googled them.

cyberdoyle

over 8 years ago

quote"News of caps on mobile data roaming charges will be welcomed by those using their mobile broadband as they travel across Europe, but even with the new caps it could cost £1000 per GB"

LOL why did they even bother?

CARPETBURN

over 8 years ago

Indeed why... I think its "for the lulz"...

A lot of the reason its so expensive is the operators levy huge amounts off each other (because they can) for traffic crossing network boundaries...

Rroff

over 8 years ago

Well the cap means that someone with a Blackberry on Vodafone will see a significant price cut, currently at £5 per MB, but depends on your tariff

andrew

over 8 years ago

It's shocking that the cuts still leave us with what are totally ridiculous prices - better, but a long, long way short of reasonable.

carrot63

over 8 years ago

Sadly a very sly way for mobile operators to recoup costs from slashed telephony rates last year.

I must admit I need to access email out of the country but my advice is just be patient, wait until you get to a town and find an Internet Cafe. Nothing can be work £7 per MB...